Business Class with Kids

There is one big problem with flying Business Class: you get to see behind that curtain. And once you know what’s there, it’s pretty hard not to want to sit up front. We found ourselves flying Business Class with kids for the first time in 2017, on an Emirates flight from London Gatwick to Bali. It was a complete game changer for long haul flights with kids…. far more so for us, than for them!

My first experience of an upgraded flight was in 2010, when we bagged a check-in desk Premium Economy upgrade as we flew to Singapore with a five month old. At the time, I didn’t even know what Premium Economy was.

With hindsight, I think the fact we were travelling with a baby on a full flight (and a wedding dress box!) actually went in our favour. With a limited number of bassinets, or sky cots, younger babies take priority. If Economy Class is short of bassinets for the number of babies on board, but they are available in Premium cabins, you’ve got a chance of getting in for free. Not that I knew any of this at the time. We were just in the right place at the right time.

That flight was dreamy – Champagne on boarding, reclining seats and a top class meal. But Qantas Premium Economy 777 isn’t as good as it gets.

When I was a teenager, my boyfriend flew a Business Class flight with his Dad. He also flew Concorde to New York. Not having a clue about the aviation industry at that time, I hardly batted an eyelid when he told me.

But even in my wildest dreams, I couldn’t have imagined what was behind that curtain. 

Here’s the thing, I consider myself extremely, extremely lucky to even be in a position to write this blog. We have taken eleven flights in Business Class with kids, with Qatar Airways, Malaysian Airlines and Emirates. We have also been to Business Class lounges in nine different airports with kids in tow.

And I pinch myself every single time.

The 50’s and 60’s, known as the Golden Age of flying for the high quality and glamorous experience that was part and parcel of the flying experience, are a world away from the relationship we have with flying today. The aviation sector has been on a long and winding path of changes since those days. Not all of them have been good. And as a lover of aviation, in any form, that makes me sad.

Of course, we would not have been able to travel as far and wide as we have, were it not for the introduction of low cost carriers. But even a shorter flight with a budget airline can be hard work. Cramped seats, practically sitting on a stranger’s lap and extortionate fees for extras, anything longer than four hours can be a chore. And because of these experiences, even the thought of long haul flights can be enough to put some people off the idea of flying altogether.

Especially when you’re travelling with young kids.

There’s no denying that many people, even frequent flyers, see the flight as the worst bit of a trip. The bit we ‘get out of the way’ before the fun can really begin. And the exhaustion from long haul flying, aside from the jet lag, can considerably eat into your adventure time.

Unless you get there in Business Class. Then the worst bit of the trip becomes the party. 

Casey Neistat’s mega viral Emirates Business Class vlog in 2016 was the first time we got to see behind the Business Class curtain. Minds well and truly blown, we could never imagine one day being able to fly on that plane.

But the seed was planted.

For our trip to Bali in 2017, I started researching flights, obviously in Economy Class. With Business Class flights costing on average 2-5 times the cost of an Economy ticket, this option was way out of reach. Flying long haul with two children aged seven and three, I looked into the prospect of paying for lounge access during the four hour stopover in Dubai. This is possible in some airports, and DXB was one of them. Showers, beds, unlimited food and drink – it seemed like a good way to break up a sixteen hour flight with little ones. And having already amassed a few miles from our Dubai trips with Emirates, it would also have been good value.

Ready to book, I made the call, only to get an opportunity to upgrade the whole trip to Business. I probably got caught up in the excitement of the moment but it seemed like it was a once in a lifetime opportunity.

So we did it. And it was epic.

Not only does Emirates’ A380 have fully lie flat seats, which get an additional mattress topper when converted into bed mode (perfect for tired little eyes), there is unlimited and delicious food and drink, lounge access in DXB with showers, play rooms, a gaming room and sleep zones, exceptional service to take care of the little ones, chauffeur drive for transfers…..there is even a bar on the plane! 

Yep! A fully stocked bar. With snacks. ON THE PLANE!

Now, I am a pretty simple person and do not like to spend money unnecessarily. I have never thrown a big party and rarely splurge on anything. I’m just not interested in glamour at all. For me, simple is best. So Business’ bling isn’t the big draw for me. I mean, it’s all very nice and I wasn’t turning away the Moët, but this isn’t what makes flying Business Class with kids SO good. 

What makes it so good, is the way that all the stress, the tension, is taken out of the flight. A bit like Potter waving his magic wand, and this is very much appreciated when making a long haul trip with little ones.

• No long queues….not at check-in, boarding, security, disembarking.
• Not having to find somewhere for a family of four to sit in the airport and fork out a fortune for a snack and drink.
• Sleeping properly on the plane on a lie-flat bed with a mattress, a pillow and a blanket. And more importantly, not staying up all night because your children are sleeping on you!

That said, it’s all so much fun, you don’t actually want to waste the time by sleeping.

Emirates even include chauffeur drive in many cities so we didn’t have to arrange or pay for transfers.

Then there’s the impact on your ‘trip time’. You arrive well rested, if a little dusty from all the champagne. And so the fun can begin immediately. You just don’t have that same jet-lag fog that eats into your adventure time.

This benefit is priceless. 

The service is pretty incredible and the crew are there to help you out wherever they can. On one Qatar flight we took, I heard the words every parent dreams of hearing as they’re settling down to a long flight, as our youngest was told,

“If you need anything for the next seven hours, ask me, not your Mum and Dad. I’m in charge here.”

And then she poured us another glass of champagne. 

Top Tips for finding a bargain in Business Class with kids:

I know you are probably reading this thinking ‘but how can anyone afford to fly Business?’. Business Class is out of most people’s budgets, including ours, especially Business Class with kids – and four tickets! And I’ll be straight up: there is no magic algorithm to finding an affordable fare. But through hours and hours of searching and researching, and being fully dedicated to the quest, I have discovered a few things that have helped us find affordable Business Class fares. Affordable, that is, not cheap.

#1 Flexibility

Flexibility both in terms of airline, dates, layover (see below) and destination has helped us find some great offers for flying Business Class. We’ve actually built our trip route to fit around a great flight, like we did with Amsterdam – Bangkok. We made both Amsterdam and Bangkok a stopover, and part of a long five week trip to South East Asia, simply because the flight deal was so good. And for us, travelling with children, flying out to South East Asia in Business made such a massive difference to our trip. We then simply added on shorter budget flights to keep hopping through the route we’d planned. We were obviously interested in visiting these cities too. So, if you can be flexible with your airports and flexible with dates and booking, there will be far more options out there. As is the case for ALL flights, not just Business Class.

#2 Keep watching fares – Or sign up to a site that watches them for you.

Airfares change daily. I have spent many hours watching and searching for fares, with many different routes and dates to try and find the right one. I have signed up for sites like Faredrop, which sends out daily deals, including error fares. But all of this will only really help get you a deal in Business, if you are flexible with destinations and dates. And are able to book immediately. As I said, airfares change daily. Hence #1. If you see a good deal, book it. It’ll probably be gone by the next time you look.

#3 Book early

I’ve never actually found a good ‘last minute deal’ – maybe that’s just me? I always find that an early booking will yield the best fare. Sometimes, just to check (because this is how obsessed I am with booking the best value flights!) I watch the flight we’ve booked in the months leading up to the trip, just to see if we got the best fare. And we always do. I’ve seen fares double in the month before a trip, compared to the price we paid maybe six months before. And I have seen Economy Class fares reach what we paid for Business Class, on the very same flight. The early bird catches the worm.

#4 Use a VPN to connect to the airline’s website.

This actually works! By changing the country you are searching from, using a VPN (we use Surfshark), you can get access to different fares. Airfares work on supply and demand. Countries, for example, UAE, who want to attract visitors, will offer different rates flying into DXB than perhaps to fly out of it. But it’s not just UAE, this is the case for most countries. So it is worth checking out your fare through a different country’s server, before booking. Just take care to change your currency to avoid hefty foreign transaction fees.

This also helps when researching fares before we are ready to book. Cookies track your activity, and if you are constantly checking the same flight, in my opinion and experience (and I have NO evidence for this) that flight will start nudging upwards or fluctuating fares between outbound and inbound, every time you check. So use a VPN when you track, and then when you’re ready to pounce…GO!

#5 Use Airmiles

Credit card sign up bonuses, frequent flyer miles, special deal bonus miles … travel hacking could have its own University degree. I am no expert, but these guys are: UK guide / USA guide. But we have used miles to upgrade flights – do you remember our fire on the plane incident? If you haven’t read about our travel blunders yet, you can read them here. After that flight we were gifted compensatory miles from Emirates, to the value of upgrading our next flight to Bali to Business Class. Every cloud has a silver, or Emirates gold coloured lining.

Value not cost

When I break down the true cost of the flights we have taken, from low cost carrier Easyjet to Business Class with Qatar, it’s really quite astonishing to think that one leg of our Amsterdam – Bangkok route (a seven hour flight from Amsterdam to Doha) flying on the incredible Qatar Q-Suite cost £300 all in, not far off what we have paid for a four hour budget airline flight to the Canaries, when you add in all the extras. Weighing up the true cost with all the extra benefits you get like extra baggage, miles, transfer services, lounge access, no queues, unlimited food, drinks and snacks, plus all that comfort of the flight and arriving at your destination well rested – there really are some great value flights in Business Class, if you’re on the ball, and in the right place at the right time.

And given that on average, a Business Class fare costs four times an Economy fare, any fare that is less than double the cost is actually a great deal.

And it’s easy to see why, when you get to see just what is on offer behind the Business Curtain.

How to make Economy feel like Business when flying long haul.

Do we only fly in Business Class? No, don’t be ridiculous! Nothing thrills me more than a bargain £50 Easyjet flight within Europe. In fact, I would only ever consider Business Class for long haul flights (at least 8/9 hours) when flying with kids, and with certain airlines. Business Class experiences can vary hugely by carrier, or from one aircraft to another. European carriers have a notoriously poor reputation for their Business Class experience, due to the fact that they operate many shorter European flights, as opposed to generally longer haul, Middle Eastern Carriers. There are plentiful reviews and videos online where you can see exactly what you’re getting before you put your money down. If you are eyeing up a Business upgrade, check out two of our favourites, Nonstop Dan, and Dennis Bunnik to see exactly what you’re getting before you buy. They really helped us nail down our upgrades.

Lounge Access

I would always pick a longer stopover, if available, over a shorter one, because visiting the lounge is such a valuable perk of flying Business Class. Being able to shower and freshen up, mid way on a sixteen hour flight, really helps to shake off that dusty feeling of long haul flying. And having a bed to rest or sleep and mostly a quiet place for the little ones to lie down for an hour or so really makes all the difference.

The privacy and quiet in a lounge enables you to get work done or finish that all important game of UNO. Not to mention the complimentary food and drink. Some lounges like Istanbul, even offer city tours during a layover. On one occasion, in DXB, the lounge was pretty full and there were only two beds available. So we got the girls off to sleep, took a shower, grabbed a chilled bottle of Cloudy Bay from the bar and sat on the carpet for a party for two.

If your ticket is in Economy Class, check out the options for lounge access, because this alone can make a huge difference on long-haul flights. Certain credit cards can also offer you a golden ticket to some lounges for free. Check out the travel hack links above for more.

Book a Stopover

If time allows, we love to take a couple of nights as a city break stopover en route to break up the flight and alleviate the jet-lag. There are loads of well priced options, as airlines like Qatar and Emirates want to encourage the millions who transit through their hubs to stay in the city and spend money there instead of simply passing through. Sometimes a long layover also means a much lower fare, so it’s worth looking into this when you’re searching. We took advantage of a Discover Qatar promotion in 2019 to spend one night in a five star hotel for the bargain price of $25. It also meant we got to see more of Doha than the airport. Two birds, one stone. 

Covid the Elephant

Our experiences are obviously all before Covid, and right now, many of these things aren’t even possible. There are some days now when I feel that flying to Space is more realistic in the next five years than multi-stop trips. But I have to hold onto the hope that one day, soon, all this will be possible, and normal again. And who knows how the aviation industry will respond and evolve in light of the pandemic? I am no expert when it comes to the aviation industry, its future, how it will become more sustainable and how it will change in light of Covid.

But I am an eternal optimist. My glass is not just half full, it is over-flowing.

Looking back at footage of flying, back in the early days of accessible travel, the standard was far superior than the cattle class of budget airlines that we’ve grown accustomed to, and so was the romance that came with it.

The Golden Age of flying, when passengers would dress for the occasion and look forward to the flight as much as the trip.

For us, Business Class offers a return to that Golden Age of travel, an opportunity to fall in love with the joy of seeing the World from 40,000 feet, and quite literally, a chance to hover on Cloud Nine for a few, precious hours, even with kids in tow.

Here’s to a great flight @dennisbunniktravels

Coming Soon – Keep an eye out for our full review of flying as a family on the Qatar Q-Suite, Qatar 777 (non Q-Suite) Business Class & Emirates A380 & 777 Business